GLOBAL ACCREDITATION FOR MGM HEALTHCARE, CHENNAI BALLOON EUSTACHIAN TUBOPLASTY (BET) SURGERY TECHNIQUE

  MGM Healthcare, a leading quaternary care super speciality hospital today announced that the novel surgical technique of non-invasive Balloon Eustachian Tuboplasty (BET) of the Institute of ENT, Head & Neck Surgery has been certified with a global accreditation standard- CE and FDA.

The CE certified & FDA approved standardized eustachian balloon was successfully used in select patients with excellent post procedure outcomes. This is a game changer in therapeutics for those suffering from eustachian dysfunction both in paediatric and adult age groups. The indications for such a procedure BET (Balloon Eustachian Tuboplasty) encompasses a spectrum of diseases like barotrauma, serous otitis medi, adhesive otitis, atelectatic middle ear and failure after tympanoplasty. Once obstructive eustachian tube dysfunction is confirmed by standard of care investigations using audiological and radiological inputs, this minimally invasive surgical day care technique would be a boon for the suffering patients.

BET is more effective in barotrauma and serous otitis media, as evidenced by clinical trials and literature review. The vulnerable population in aviation industry who regularly experience vagaries of pressure changes during flying would certainly benefit from this modern method. This will also help children, who are susceptible to middle ear infections and prevent conductive deafness in the long run. Such cluster of patients are subjected to insertion of middle ear ventilation tubes through an opening in the ear drum as treatment strategy under endoscopic or microscopic vision.

Professor Dr. Sanjeev Mohanty, Head, Institute of ENT, Head & Neck Surgery explained and said, “A good pre-operative investigation test battery is mandatory to identify the correct patient indications for balloon eustachian tuboplasty. Scientifically validated tests to ascertain eustachian dysfunction must be confirmed before subjecting such patients to BET. The use of high-resolution CT scans of the temporal bone to map the correct angulation of the eustachian tube and the neuro vascular anatomy of the adjacent area is an important prerequisite before the planned procedure.”

He further added, “Although, the actual procedure is not very laborious, it requires proper pre-operative planning and surgical precision during the balloon inflation as there is only a single chance to use the device. The hospital is happy to report that all the patients had an uneventful short stay in hospital, and they had tremendous improvement in symptoms post surgery. The surgical outcomes were excellent and post-operative period for the patients was without any complications.”

MGM is at the forefront of all such innovative procedures directed at enhancing patient experience. This niche area of the often-neglected eustachian dysfunction was addressed by the ENT doctors. This was helped immensely by the state of art technology available at MGM Healthcare and multidisciplinary team approach to help suffering patients. A comprehensive launch of such a procedure was the first of its kind in the country with the certified global accreditation standards.